LEGEND by David A. Gemmell

‘Well, do you?’ asked Rabil.

‘No,’ said Antaheim, removing his helm and unty­ing the battle knot in his long hair. He smiled. ‘I am not a magician. Merely a man as you – all of you -are. My training is different, that is all.’

‘But you can speak without talking,’ said another man. ‘That’s not natural.’

‘It is to me.’

‘Can you see into the future?’ asked a thin warrior, making the sign of the Protective Horn beneath his cloak.

‘There are many futures. I can see some of them, but I do not know which will come to pass.’

‘How can there be many futures?’ asked Rabil.

‘It is not an easy concept to explain, but I will try. Tomorrow an archer will shoot an arrow. If the wind drops, it will hit one man – if the wind rises, it will hit another. Each man’s future therefore depends on the wind. I cannot predict which way the wind will blow, for that too depends on many things. I can look into tomorrow and see both men die, whereas only one may actually fall.’

‘Then what is the point of it all? Your talent, I mean?’ asked Rabil.

‘Now that is an excellent question, and one which I have pondered for many years.’

‘Will we die tomorrow?’ asked another.

‘How can I tell?’ answered Antaheim. ‘But all men must die eventually. The gift of life is not permanent.’

‘You say “gift”,’ said Rabil. ‘This implies a giver?’

‘Indeed it does.’

‘Which then of the gods do you follow?’

‘We follow the Source of all things. How do you feel after todays’ battle?’

‘In what way?’ asked Rabil, pulling his cloak closer about him.

‘What emotions did you feel as the Nadir fell back?’

‘It’s hard to describe. Strong.’ He shrugged. ‘Filled with power. Glad to be alive.’ The other men nodded at this.

‘Exultant?’ offered Antaheim.

‘I suppose so. Why do you ask?’

Antaheim smiled. ‘This is Eldibar, Wall One. Do you know the meaning of the word “Eldibar”?’

‘Is it not just a word?’

‘No, it is far more. Egel, who built this fortress, had names carved on every wall. “Eldibar” means “Exultation”, it is there that the enemy is first met. It is there he is seen to be a Man. Power flows in the veins of the defenders. The enemy falls back against the weight of our swords and the strength of our arms. We feel, as heroes should, the thrill of battle and the call of our heritage. We are exultant! Egel knew the hearts of men. I wonder did he know the future?’

‘What do the other names mean?’

Antaheim shrugged. ‘That is for another day. It is not good luck to talk of Musif while we shelter under the protection of Eldibar.’ Antaheim leaned back into the wall and closed his eyes, listening to the rain and the howling wind.

Musif. The Wall of Despair! Where strength has not been great enough to hold Eldibar, how can Musif be held? If we could not hold Eldibar, we cannot hold Musif. Fear will gnaw at our vitals. Many of our friends will have died at Eldibar and once more we will see, in our minds, the laughing faces. We wll not want to join them. Musif is the test.

And we will not hold. We will fall back to Kania, the Wall of Renewed Hope. We did not die on Musif and Kania is a narrower fighting place. And anyway, are there not three more walls? The Nadir can no longer use their ballistae here, so that is something, is it not? In any case, did we not always know we would lose a few walls?

Sumitos, the Wall of Desperation, will follow. We are tired, mortally weary. We fight now by instinct, mechanically and well. Only the very best will be left to stem the savage tide.

Valteri, Wall Five, is the Wall of Serenity. Now we have come to terms with mortality. We accept the inevitability of our deaths, and find in ourselves depths of courage we would not have believed poss­ible. The humour will begin again and each will be a brother to each other man. We will have stood together against the common enemy, shield to shield, and we will have made him suffer. Time will pass on this wall more slowly. We will savour our senses, as if we have discovered them anew. The stars will become jewels of beauty we never saw before, and friendship will have a sweetness never previously tasted.